Animal Kingdom

Typhoon Lagoon

Blizzard Beach

Hello fellow DISers. Me(40) :-(, DW(34) and our 2 DS(8,6) are so, so ready for Disney. We actually calmed the excitement this year with a trip to the beach for a week in June that we really enjoyed. We used to do the beach for a week before we decided to try to go to Disney once before the kids got older and bam here we are for our 3rd annual trip. Each year the trip has been different. Our first year, we flew down on a saturday, had a long day going to downtown disney and then hit the parks every day and then flew home the following saturday night. Disney Magical Express is incredible and the parks were in the mid 90s every day but hey it's August. I really didn't enjoy the lack of control with our first saturday and last saturday for coming down so we drove down last year. Everything went fine, we drove from the Philly area and the only negative part was our younger DS threw up in the car when we arrived in the Orlando area. He had the stomach bug for the next 2 days but was fine the rest of the trip including the trip home(me and DW got that same bug later in the week). We also had cooler temps(upper 80s in mid august!) and a lot more showers which at disney isn't a big deal. Overall we had a great time and headed home in the middle of the afternoon after hitting Epcot on a sunday till around 3pm. We were supposed to get a hotel to sleep in on the way home but we drove straight home and got home at 7am and went to bed(not fun but we were ok)

This year we were not going to goto Disney, we said we can't afford it this year and then boom, Disney puts out the buy 4 days get 3 free. So we booked and we are set for Disney from August 8th thru August 15th at Pop Century. We've been to All Star Sports and Movies in the last 2 years, so Pop Century seems really nice and a nice fit for a new place to visit making each year fresh and new.

So here we are planning our trip. We are 4 weeks away, dining reservations have been made months ago and we are ready to go now if we could but we patiently wait.

Day -1 - August 6th -
Laundry night, pack bags and have them by the door, make sure DSes/PSP/iphones are charged and podcasts are downloaded. Have mini tv and PS2 and Gamecube packed to go.
Day 0 - August 7th(in Philly area)-
We come home from work and have our last home cooked meal, clean up, pack up the van, hit the bathrooms, and our trip will begin somewhere in the 7-8pm time period.
There are a few hard periods driving to Disney from the Philly area. We plan on having DW drive through these trouble areas while I take a nap during the first part of the trip this year. Last year I drive all but 1-2 hours last year.
Problem #1, Baltimore area, we should hit around 9pm, Orioles are on the road that day, so traffic shouldn't be too bad.
Problem #2 DC area, DC is always a traffic jam even at 10pm at night. Hopefully this will be smooth. If we are doing good then we should be in Richmond, VA by midnight-1am area.
Problem #3 Trees, trees, trees. The reason for packing podcasts for the trip is #1, the wife will be sleeping and scenery in the dark and just trees is boring.
Day #1 YES!!!!!!!!
Kids will start to wake up during the drive around 5-7am. Generally because of the excitement. At this point we should be in the Georgia area.
Last year we ate at a Denny's at Brunswick, GA. It was really good and kids had fun there. I think it was 8am when we ate there last year.
After we eat and leave around 9amish we hit the Jacksonville area around 11am. At this point, we should only have 3 more hours till we hit Disney and we hope to arrive around 2pm. Kids want to eat at the McD near by and will probably do so. After we have lunch then we head to the hotel, check in and unload. Our game plan is to head to the pools and relax after a long day(for us driving anyways). More of the PTR coming later.

Day 1 Continued(Aug 8th)
Dinner at resort,
Then heading to Mini-golf at Winter/Summerland near Blizzard Beach. Then head back to Pop Century for some much needed Sleep

Day #2 Sun., August 9th:

Epcot
We will head to Epcot bright and early in the morning for the extra Magic hours at 8am.

We have Dinner set at the Garden Grill and then afterwords we should be set for IllumiNations at 9pm and then head back to the hotel. We have never eaten at the Garden Grill, this will be new to us.

Day #3 Mon., August 10th:
Since we are up a little later the night before we decided to goto Animal Kingdom instead of hitting the magic hour in the morning, we get 3 in the evening. I hope the Safari works out with it being 9am instead of 8am but most animals seem to be sleeping when we are driving by anyways and we do have until 9pm to stay there but I doubt if we will be there past 8pm.

Day #4 Tues., August 11th:
We head to Magic Kingdom for the Magic hour in the morning. Going to be a great day. We have lunch reservations at Crystal Palace. This is always fun and relaxing, even though the kids are no longer the biggest Pooh fans, I am still.

We plan on watching Spectromagic and Wishes this day as well.

Day #5 Wed., August 12th:

Back to Epcot at 9am, this is one of the kids favorite parks so we come back here early. Depending on what the kids want to do, is how long we stay, this could be a day where we enjoy the park for the day and then head back to the hotel and swim after dinner and relax at night.

Day #6 Thurs., August 13th:
Hollywood Studios
Our DS that is 6 has hit the 48 inch mark and is excited to go on the Rock and Roller Coaster this year. We are also pumped that we can do this ride as a family.
Park opens at 9am and we will be hitting Fantasmic that night at 9pm.

Day #7 Fri., August 14th:

2nd day at Magic Kingdom, we are hitting at 9am again because of the late show the night before. We have the option of staying up late this night if tuesday night is rainy.

Day #8 Sat., August 15th:
check out early AM, pack car
Breakfast at Chef Mickeys for the best breakfast and best way to kick off the last day of a vacation.
We drive to kids park of choice, honestly any will do. It's always been Epcot but I believe they might choose Hollywood Studios this year.
Leave around 3pm
Drive to GA for dinner
Drive to SC and stay overnight at motel(last year I kept driving, this year I think I will listen)

Day #9 Sun., August 16th:

Breakfast in SC
Lunch/dinner on the road
Home around 7pm
Unpack, laundry, sleep

Day #10 Mon., August 17th, DW back to work, DH home with kids, doing more laundry, catching up on sleep.

Thankfully we have the Harry Potter mania hitting us right now, so no big news on disney. Our 6 year old admited that he is scared of going on the Aerosmith rollercoaster this year. He'll change his view when he's there.

t-minus 27 days till the drive. We starting talking about food to pack for the car trip.

Luke is no longer worried about Aerosmith ride, apparently I compared it to riding a bus and flying in the air with no seatbelts and in comparision he love the idea of this ride. 3 peaceful weekends before our disney trip. Tomorrow is Harry Potter day. We can't wait.

Mel: work in the morning, then Dave & kids meet at Mom-Mom’s house for haircuts/lunchtime…

Relax rest of the day, etc.

Sun., Aug. 2nd: (meatloaf?)

Grocery shop (Acme) for the week (try to plan on finishing all refrigerated food by Friday)…

Mon., Aug. 3rd (fish sticks?)

Get oil change for the van?, change van seats – put in back row seat and take out middle row…

Clean out van, etc.

Tues., Aug. 4th (burgers, spaghettios)

Family trip to Acme – pick out cereals, snacks, drinks, etc. – all food for the drive down and the week at Disney (snacks for car, “breakfast” foods for hotel, evening snacks, drink mixes and snacks to bring with us to the parks, etc.).

Big laundry night! – all regular whites & darks, etc.

Wed., Aug. 5th: (veal patties)

Go online and put a hold on our mail, stop by pet store and get crickets/worms for the Gecko,

Dave – mow the lawn… Dave and Mel can pack their clothes, most of their suitcases, etc.,

Do kids’ laundry… Have kids start to pack their toys or animals?? Have them pick out movies and games for the car trip? Start to pack kids’ suitcases…

Thurs., Aug. 6th: (ham slice & mac n cheese)

Have kids wear PJs or old clothes, do small load of any extra laundry to be done…

Work (Mel: all day), Dave – maybe leave early from work, take an afternoon nap, pick up the kids, etc. GET DARTH CAT INSIDE AND LOCK THE BEAST IN A ROOM UNTIL WE LEAVE!!!! J

When I get home, Dave - pack van with suitcases, etc., Mel – cook dinner, clean-up, etc., Kids can change into PJs or just sleep in the same clothes their wear on Friday and wear the same clothes on Saturday?? Shock the pool, put pool cover on, etc., Turn down thermostat for the week, Lock doors, pull up bathroom mats, change cat litter, set out extra water & food dishes for the cats. Pack cooler for car trip down – drinks, etc., and snacks for hotel…

Well, 3 weeks till Disney and my 6 year old had to goto the hospital on friday. Uggg. Blood was everywhere. He was goofing off and slipped and took a lot of skin off his baby toe and in between the following toe. My first reaction was to all the blood, then my 2nd reaction was how is this going to effect our disney trip. Well, thankfully after we went to the hospital, got it all cleaned out, he just has to spend a few days off his feet and he's fine. The next 2 weeks of work are the easy part, then as soon as August hits we are full board into moving the planning into doing. I just can't get July to go away fast enough.

Well, we are almost there, After today, only 10 work days until I can relax.

This weekend, car seat is moved and van will be cleaned. Take the kids to see the G-Force movie. I heard they have stuff from the movie Up at disney, kids had no interest in that but are excited for the G-Force movie.

You're not talking to yourself, I'm reading, I'm reading Have a fun trip can't wait to read about it when you guys get back

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I think most of the fun is prepping to go there, and then being there. Writing the post trip will be fun as well but then there is work to go back to :-(

Glad someone is reading though.

This weekend the van was prepped, So this week is all about having a "normal" work week, getting kids new shoes and hair cuts and then the following week the thoughts of did we pack everything we need sets in.

I will write more later this week as it gets interesting. Seeing that calendar turning to August makes it all worth wild.

Tonight - nice relaxing night at home, kids are really excited to head back to Disney!!!!!!! It was the first time since we announced that were going that they have shown actually excitment for the trip! They kept asking, is this friday the day we goto disney??

Tomorrow(7/30) - Nothing disney oriented to really get done.

Friday(7/31) - Nope, still nothing to do

Saturday(8/1) - We meet at Mom-Mom’s house for haircuts/lunchtime…
Relax rest of the day, etc. Take kids to store to get new shoes.

Sunday(8/2) - Grocery shop (Acme) for the week (try to plan on finishing all refrigerated food by Friday)… Maybe mow the lawn. Mini laundry for clothes for the week.

Monday(8/3) - Bags for disney appear to be prepped for packing.

Tues.(8/4)
Family trip to Acme – pick out cereals, snacks, drinks, etc. – all food for the drive down and the week at Disney (snacks for car, “breakfast” foods for hotel, evening snacks, drink mixes and snacks to bring with us to the parks, etc.). GE

Big laundry night! – all regular whites & darks, etc.

Wed(8/5)

Go online and put a hold on our mail, stop by pet store and get crickets/worms for the Gecko,

Dave and Mel can pack their clothes, most of their suitcases, etc.,

Do kids’ laundry… Have kids start to pack their toys or animals?? Have them pick out movies and games for the car trip? Start to pack kids’ suitcases…

Thurs.(8/6)

Have kids wear PJs or old clothes, do small load of any extra laundry to be done…

Fri(8/7) - Work (Mel: all day), Dave – maybe leave early from work, Load up on podcasts for the drive for listening, take an afternoon nap, pick up the kids, etc. GET DARTH CAT INSIDE AND LOCK THE BEAST IN A ROOM UNTIL WE LEAVE!!!! J

When I get home, Dave - pack van with suitcases, etc., Mel – cook dinner, clean-up, etc., Kids can change into PJs or just sleep in the same clothes their wear on Friday and wear the same clothes on Saturday?? Shock the pool, put pool cover on, etc., Turn down thermostat for the week, Lock doors, pull up bathroom mats, change cat litter, set out extra water & food dishes for the cats. Pack cooler for car trip down – drinks, etc., and snacks for hotel…

Bring pillows, blankets, etc. for the van… Leave around 7-8pm for Disney!!! Drive all night and try to stay awake

Mel plans to drive from 7:30-midnightish(I try to sleep for a bit), I've got the midnightish till Disney trip.

Tried to work on lawn this morning and turned into Lawnmower problem and the skies have opened up to a downpour of tstorms and hail. Hopefully we will run into a kid to mow our lawn.

Laundry is being worked on now(hopefully power doesn't go out.)

Trip to acme for groceries for the week will be done today as well as getting the kids sneakers.

Here is our up to date gameplan for the week.

Sunday(8/2) - Grocery shop for the week (try to plan on finishing all refrigerated food by Friday) Mini laundry for clothes for the week. Take kids to store to get new shoes.

Monday(8/3) - Bags for disney appear to be prepped for packing.

Tues.(8/4)
Check on pet food for all pets

Family trip to Acme  pick out cereals, snacks, drinks, etc.  all food for the drive down and the week at Disney (snacks for car, breakfast foods for hotel, evening snacks, drink mixes and snacks to bring with us to the parks, etc.).

Big laundry night!  all regular whites & darks, etc.

Wed(8/5)

Go online and put a hold on our mail

DH and DW can pack their clothes, most of their suitcases, etc.,

Do kids laundry Have kids start to pack their toys or animals?? Have them pick out movies and games for the car trip? Start to pack kids suitcases

Thurs.(8/6)

Have kids wear PJs or old clothes, do small load of any extra laundry to be done

Fri(8/7) - Work (DW: all day), DH  maybe leave early from work, Load up on podcasts for the drive for listening, take an afternoon nap, pick up the kids, etc. GET DARTH CAT INSIDE AND LOCK THE BEAST IN A ROOM UNTIL WE LEAVE!!!! J

When DW get home, DH - pack van with suitcases, etc., DW  cook dinner, clean-up, etc., DS can change into PJs or just sleep in the same clothes their wear on Friday and wear the same clothes on Saturday?? Shock the pool, put pool cover on, etc., Turn down thermostat for the week, Lock doors, pull up bathroom mats, change cat litter, set out extra water & food dishes for the cats. Pack cooler for car trip down  drinks, etc., and snacks for hotel

Bring pillows, blankets, etc. for the van Leave around 7-8pm for Disney!!! Drive all night and try to stay awake

DW plans to drive from 7:30-midnightish(I try to sleep for a bit), I've got the midnightish till Disney trip.

I have never been so excited for it to be monday. But hey, it's only 4 days till we leave to disney.

Got the one gift for the ride for the one DS, need another copy for the other DS, I will hopefully pick that up at lunch time.

Tonight we get the bags out. I was thinking of doing the online reservation but we are not going to do this because we could possible get a better room chatting with someone at the desk.

I also want to start to gather the game system/games/movies and other needs for the trip.

I think I can pack most of my shorts and stuff tonight, and pack the underwear and stuff wednesday night or thursday after laundry.

The lawn is a lost cause at this point. I am not sure what I can do with the mower acting up. I will try and look at it tonight, if I can't do anything, I would like to pay someone to at least get the rest of the front lawn cut.

So that is the update. Wife and kids are all set to go. This will feel like a very long week.

I have never been so excited for it to be monday. But hey, it's only 4 days till we leave to disney.

Got the one gift for the ride for the one DS, need another copy for the other DS, I will hopefully pick that up at lunch time.

Tonight we get the bags out. I was thinking of doing the online reservation but we are not going to do this because we could possible get a better room chatting with someone at the desk.

I also want to start to gather the game system/games/movies and other needs for the trip.

I think I can pack most of my shorts and stuff tonight, and pack the underwear and stuff wednesday night or thursday after laundry.

The lawn is a lost cause at this point. I am not sure what I can do with the mower acting up. I will try and look at it tonight, if I can't do anything, I would like to pay someone to at least get the rest of the front lawn cut.

So that is the update. Wife and kids are all set to go. This will feel like a very long week.

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I was so happy with this weekend was over - finally feels like the trip is right here, however it is only 11:47 and I have been clock watching for 4 hours....ugh the next 2 days are going to move sooooo slowly.....

Looks you guys are almost all ready too - I did all the big laundry over the weekend (bedding and such) and just now have to stay on top of what we wear the next 3 days ...I dont want to leave any dirty laundry in the house while we're gone...I'm weird like that

I see you have cats too - we are leaving our cat home while we are gone as well but do have someone coming to check on her every morning. I froze some bowls of water for her plus her regular water bowl will be full - and I plan on freshly changing her litter box Wednesday night. I hope she will be okay...knowing her she'll sleep the next week away anyways.

I was so happy with this weekend was over - finally feels like the trip is right here, however it is only 11:47 and I have been clock watching for 4 hours....ugh the next 2 days are going to move sooooo slowly.....

Looks you guys are almost all ready too - I did all the big laundry over the weekend (bedding and such) and just now have to stay on top of what we wear the next 3 days ...I dont want to leave any dirty laundry in the house while we're gone...I'm weird like that

I see you have cats too - we are leaving our cat home while we are gone as well but do have someone coming to check on her every morning. I froze some bowls of water for her plus her regular water bowl will be full - and I plan on freshly changing her litter box Wednesday night. I hope she will be okay...knowing her she'll sleep the next week away anyways.

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Yes, with a minor laundry mid week we should be good to go. We have someone come in spend some time with the cats and clean the litter boxes(yes we have 2 boxes for our 2 cats so that if one has to go, the other one doesn't have to wait. The one likes people , the other could care less Yea, we also don't want any dirty laundry to do when we get home either, except for vacation clothes. Have plenty of water and food, and the cats should be good to go but we have someone come just as a precaution. All our reservations have been confirmed this morning so we have the places that we reserved to eat are set. We just need to get going. It's monday and it feels like a 10 hour day at lunch time.